Leaning Into Value: Becoming a User-Focused Museum [Paperback]

Leaning into Value: Becoming a User-Focused Museumprovides guidance to museum leaders struggling to navigate todays often tumultuous, ever-changing economic, political, leisure and educational landscape. Provided is a concrete framework for maximizing institutional success, a continuousValue Realizationprocess that enables museum leaders to effectively: 1)Calibratethe needs and interests of their current and potential users; 2)Articulatehow and why they create value so they can foster enduring relationships with users; 3)Createan ever-evolving series of products and services that consistently deliver unique value to an ever-more diverse set of constituencies; and finally, 4)Validatetheir activities through empirical processes that promote evidence-based decision making and catalyze measurable, year-on-year improvements in their organizations community value.

John Falk has a nearly unparalleled level of name recognition amongst museum professionals worldwide and enjoys a reputation as a leading researcher and thinker about museums. In acknowledgment of his accomplishments, he has received a number of prestigious awards, including the 2023 Bloop 50 Award celebrating the work of the fifty key individuals internationally whose creativity, passion, and drive has helped shape and improve museums, the Western Museums Associations (2022) Leadership Award for Significant and Lasting Impact, the Distinguished Career Award (2016) from NARST: A worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research; the Oregon State University, University Outreach and Engagement Vice Provost Award for Excellence, Innovation-Partnerships Award (2016); the Council of Scientific Society Presidents Award for Educational Research (2013) and the American Alliance of Museums John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership (2010). In 2006 the American Alliance of Museums included Falk on their list of the 100 most influential museum prof